Any FlyBabies Here?

jeriJuly 8, 2010

This is a Cleaning Tips Forum Â Right? I want to learn the tips for keeping my house company ready at all times. FlyLady seems to have some good tips, but I would love to discuss some of her ideas with others here. Any takers? :-)

1. Swish & Swipe. I *love* this! This has already changed my life for the better. The swish works perfect, but I need to perfect the swipe. I first tried using a microfiber towel. I was not happy with this because after swiping the toilet Â I didnÂt want to use the same towel again. I have 3 bathrooms, so I would be using 3 towels a day. Perhaps I just need an attitude adjustment, but I wanted to try something different.

Next I tried using the CostCo wipes. This works well, but I am going through 2 sheets per bathroom to get the job done. It also seems like these things push more dirt around than actually picks it up Â do you have that problem?

I might try paper towels next. I just read today where the FlyLady herself uses paper towels for this.

I've been on and off Fly;ady for about 5 years. I read her website Flylady net and also have her book "Sink Reflectiions". Don't bother buying it-everything she has is already on her website for free. I like swish and swipe, and the daily missions. I don't take everything she says serioudly. I take what fits into my life and leave the rest. I like her idea of "zones" bbecause my home has three floors (split level) and thus three zones. I don't bother with dressing in lace-up shoes. I wear comfortable slip ons with rubber soles. I had some flushable wipes for my bsathroom. Not sure who makes them. But I do wipe my toilet seat daily, and clean my toilet daily also. I keep the bathroom sink clean and polished, as well as the faucet. I take a shower every day and wash the bthtub about once a week. I also wipe the bathoom mirrors when I get out of the shower and they are steamed up. And I keep towels and washcloths clean and handy for my family at all times. I do laundry nearly every day! Another thing I do daily is clean (scoop) my cat's litter box. And I empty wastebaskets almost every single day. All from Flylady.

It's really kind of fun, isn't it? Like Jeri, I kinda take what I need and leave the rest, and no I'm not gonna put on laceup shoes either. I made a list of what needed to be done in each room in my house, put it in sheet protectors so I could check it off when completed with a whiteboard marker (boy do I sound like a nut here or what?) and once every room was done maintaining it has been a piece of cake.

I'm all for keeping it simple, so I wipe steamy mirrors with the bath towel I just used. I use Chlorox Kleenup because of it's disinfecting properties on everything in the bathroom. One paper towel will do counters and toilet seat (do counters first,obviously) and don't forget the toilet handle--gotta be some germs to kill there as well as light switches. One thing Flylady forgot to tell you was how much more doable it is with an IPOD in your ears.

I often have the radio on when I clean-tuned to my favorite "Olsies' station. That and the windows open keep me energized and moving. Oh, and I wipe the steamy bathroom mirrors with anything that's hand-an undershirt, clean towel, even my best microfibre cloth. Just anything to get the steam off.

You are both way ahead of me! IÂm not sure what the lace-up shoes are about yet, but I do wear them, so IÂm probably good. :-)

I tried using Paper Towels today instead of the CostCo wipes (like Chlorox wipes but bigger and stronger and less $$). I didn't like using the paper towel because it was too dry. I took a spray bottle and started spraying everything, but that just makes more work. So, IÂm going to stick with the CostCo wipes.

I hope my Black Ostrich Feather dusters come today Â IÂm excited to try them out. I bought one for my daughter too since I think she will enjoy using it in her room.

Alas, mopping is my biggest chore as I have only tile and wood floors in the downstairs of my house and 3 furry shedding dogs. (My solution to cleaning the upstairs of my house is to pretend I don't have one.) I use a dust mop to get under stuff followed by the vacuum, followed by a microfiber string mop (Libman Wonder Mop) that can be tossed in the washer after. A divided mop bucket is a thing of beauty, as you're not dipping your dirty mop back into your cleaning solution. A male mop attachment (AKA husband) is also a beautiful thing, but if anyone has figured out how to get those to work I'd love to know.

I bought 3 roombas a few years ago, and all of them have been escorted to the curb. They got stuck under things so I was constantly chasing beeps, were a major pain to clean with the forky thing and hours of that constant hairdryer-like hum got old. The batteries all died within a few months, and replacements are almost the cost of the unit so we parted ways in a Flylady Fling. So Scooba? I dunno...not for me, but you'll probably hear from others who have had great experience with both.

How can U stand that woman?! If U have the time to read her endless emails, U could be deep cleaning your house and not looking for shortcuts. Clean and polish the sink, give me a break! That is the last thing I do as I always am using it when I am cleaning. I own a cleaning service and clean my self. I am a guy and I have been doing this since I was 9 and just turned 57. Fly Lady is a joke!

Flylady is a little over-the-top, and I wouldn't subscribe to her e-mails, but in addition to her cleaning tips, she deals with the psychological aspects of cleaning by giving helpful motivational tips. Two Flylady tips I picked up are getting dressed and putting on shoes to signal the start of the work day and cleaning the kitchen sink before going to bed so that you wake up to a clean kitchen.

IÂm sure like most things in life, one should take what works and leave the rest. IÂm trying to find what works. :-)

The Swish and Swipe work GREAT for me. Now I would like to find even more great tips.

Rozilla Â Sorry to hear about your negative experience with the Roomba. IÂve been using one for just over a month and so far I really like it. IÂm not home when it runs though, so I donÂt have to listen to it. I do clean it every day, but I find that super easy to do. I really need to get a second one, but IÂm waiting to see if the Neato becomes available soon.

Eteinne Â DidnÂt you say it took you 25-30 hours a week to keep your 4,000 sq ft home clean? I work full time outside the house, so I donÂt have another 25-30 hours to spend cleaning when I am home. I must find good Tips and methods and so far, FlyLady seems to have some good ones.

jeri, yes I did. If I still lived there I would still be doing it. I was up at 3 and cleaned 3 to 4 hours before I went to work to clean for other people. It's not that hard. You just have to get out of bed! To hell with polishing your sink and putting on your shoes. Get out of bed and clean. I clean for my clients 60 hours a week and still get it done. I just washed my bedroom walls and it took me 3 days. At the highest point the ceiling is 32 feet. I am no longer 20 so it took 3 days. Service Master wanted $700 to do it! You just have to bite the bullet and do it!

graywings, All of my silver needs to be polished and if I had to call 911 they would find me on the drive! I would not let anyone in here, I have a certain reputation! LOL

If you are naturally disorganized Flylady is a lifesaver! As many people have said, I apply what works for me and discard the rest. I learned to do a "new habit a month" and it has made a big difference in my home. My mother is a neat freak and I will never have a home like the one I grew up in but I am much happier than I was a few years ago. I like to think of my house as lived-in but I'm no longer embarrassed when someone just drops in. If you're a "natural cleaner" Flylady isn't for you. For the rest of us it's a step toward a happier home!

I'm basically at peace with Flylady. I no longer subscribe to her emails. But I like some of her hints:
Jump in where you are, you are not behind.
Housework done poorly still blesses your family.
Divide your home into Zones.
I'll never have a completely clean house, but I appreciate an occasional reminder from Flylady, so I visit her website Flylady Net once in a while. I am certain she is a well-meaning person. She did clean up her own home using her methods and just wants to share her experience. If she makes a few bucks off her book and sale of Flylady Items, that's okay with me.